What We Know About the California Wildfires

The huge, fast-moving fires are stretching the region’s firefighting resources.

Fast-moving fires that reached across the Los Angeles area this week have burned more than 1,000 homes, destroyed beloved landmarks and forced more than 100,000 people to flee the fast-approaching flames.

The three largest fires — in the coastal Pacific Palisades neighborhood, in the suburban Pasadena area and in a rural stretch of the San Fernando Valley — were not at all contained as of Wednesday night. Officials warned that more damage was likely as heavy winds and dry conditions continued to fuel their rapid growth.

Here’s the latest on the blazes:

Where are the fires burning?

Four big fires were burning in different parts of the Los Angeles area on Wednesday. To the west, the Palisades fire had scorched more than 15,000 acres and forced evacuations in cities and neighborhoods along the Pacific Coast Highway, including the Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Santa Monica. The residences in these areas include iconic mansions on bluffs that tower over the Pacific as well as tracts of homes in beachside neighborhoods.

To the east, a fire ignited on Wednesday night in the Hollywood Hills, an area that is etched with hiking trails and dotted with secluded mansions. The Sunset fire, forcing evacuations in one of the most densely populated parts of Los Angeles, had spread to 20 acres as of 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Further east, a fire north of Pasadena in the San Gabriel Mountains had burned more than 10,000 acres as of Wednesday evening, and destroyed 100 homes. The blaze is called the Eaton fire because it began in Eaton Canyon in the mountains that are perhaps best known for the often snowcapped, highest peak referred to as Mt. Baldy. The fire has forced more than 32,000 evacuations in suburban areas where many homes are nestled against mountain foothills.

And to the north, the Hurst fire had extended to 500 acres and was burning in the San Fernando Valley, about 25 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. While the Valley itself is densely populated, Sylmar is a more rural area that was once known for its olive orchards and is now home to horse properties.

How many homes have been destroyed?

The Palisades fire has destroyed more than 1,000 homes, officials said on Wednesday, and another 15,000 structures were at risk. The fire has also razed several beloved local institutions, including the Malibu Feed Bin, which had sold pet supplies and gifts since 1966, and Palisades Charter High School, the alma mater of numerous celebrities as well as the filming location of many TV shows, including “Modern Family.”

The Eaton fire has so far burned about 100 homes, officials said. Flames had seriously damaged at least part of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, which has been operating for more than a century.

The damage caused by the Hurst fire remains unclear.

Have there been any fatalities?

The Eaton fire killed five people, fire officials say. While there haven’t been any fatalities reported from the Palisades fire, there have been a “high number of significant injuries” among people who didn’t evacuate their homes when they should have, said Anthony C. Marrone, the fire chief for Los Angeles County.

Why did these big fires break out at the same time?

Forecasters this week had warned of damaging wind gusts that would reach 50 to 80 m.p.h., and even above 100 m.p.h. in the mountains. The winds, combined with dry air, created a critical fire-weather event in Southern California. The hills are also covered in vegetation after two rainy winters that preceded this one. “This is about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” forecasters said.

The winter and late fall tend to spawn catastrophic fires in California.

In periods without significant precipitation, as has been the case this winter, the vegetation becomes extremely parched. And cooler weather in California coincides with the Santa Ana winds, the strong and dry gusts that blow west from Nevada and Utah to Southern California — and are linked to the region’s most devastating fires.

The deadliest and most destructive fire in California’s history, which destroyed the Northern California town of Paradise, broke out in mid-November 2018.

Are the fires expected to keep growing?

Unfortunately, yes. Firefighters are limited in their ability to fight the fires from helicopters, as aircraft are grounded in places because of the strong winds. Firefighting resources are also stretched thin given the simultaneously burning fires, and in some places fire hydrants have begun to run dry amid the excessive demand.

Though winds began diminishing , they will be moderately strong in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties through Thursday, according to weather officials.

Fire officials are asking people who have not evacuated but live near the fires to stay alert, as the blazes are likely to move fast and unpredictably in the coming hours. And they are asking everyone in Southern California to beware of new fires.

Jacey Fortin contributed reporting.

More on the California Wildfires

• Evacuations: Multiple fires have prompted a swath of evacuation orders for thousands. Residents, including several celebrities, have fled the Pacific Palisades. Near Pasadena, the Eaton fire put more than 52,000 residents under evacuation orders on Wednesday morning.
• ‘The Embers Were Just Flying’: After evacuating, two friends rushed back to try to save a family home. But the furious blaze was too much.
• Landmarks Destroyed: The fires have gutted a number of local landmarks in some of the most affluent areas of Los Angeles, including a high school used in films and several well-known restaurants.
• A Pivotal Moment for Insurers: It’s too soon to know the financial cost of the fires. But the toll on California’s troubled insurance industry could be enormous and accelerate insurance companies’ exodus from the state.
• Concern for Children: As wildfires in the West become bigger and spread faster, they have upended a growing number of children’s lives, affecting academics, physical health and mental well-being.